


Too Young, Too Dumb

by BandGirl33



Series: Hold My Heart and I'll Hold Yours [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Calum Hood, Cake, Clubbing, Drinking, F/M, Fighting, Friends to Lovers, Hearbreak, M/M, Minor Violence, Petunia - Freeform, Recreational Drug Use, Sad Luke, Slow Burn, but like not really, enjoy, idk - Freeform, kinda smut, larzaylea, pansexual Luke hemmings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-25 12:35:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14977283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BandGirl33/pseuds/BandGirl33
Summary: Calum has to find a way to pull his band back together or jump ship himself before he drowns along with Luke.





	1. So If I Tell You, Just Keep It And Don't Say A Word

**Author's Note:**

> Based loosely on the tragic relationship between Luke and Arzaylea. Kind involves the whole cheating and drugs thing.
> 
>  Titles are Youngblood lyrics.
> 
> My tumblr: https://5sos-stan4lyfe.tumblr.com

Calum could feel the bass vibrate through the floors of the dingy club he had been forced into by his overly eager bandmates. He didn’t want to be there, all that was going to happen was Luke getting too drunk and stumbling out in front of the Paps with his trashy girlfriend in hand. He knew what she was doing to the band and he still kept her around. He watched Luke build his relationship up just to have her keep tearing it down. Rumors of drugs and cheating kept circulating every time they get seen together or she posts a questionable Instagram photo, she was going to be the downfall of their band if someone didn’t pull their singers head out of his ass. 

The bass player situated himself at the bar, a good enough view to keep tabs on the rest of the band in case something goes south. What Calum wasn’t expecting was for Ashton to sit himself down on the stool next to his.

“He’s going to let her destroy everything if he keeps this up, man.” Ashton didn’t turn to face him when he says this, just kept his eyes glued to where the tall blonde had his arms wrapped around his girlfriend.

“Yeah, I know. Mike tried talking to him the other day and it ended in a screaming match.”

“That explains why they didn’t talk the whole way here.”

Calum just responded with a sound of acknowledgment before waving the bartender over to get a refill. He had a bad feeling about tonight like he was trapped in a bubble that was about to burst. He turned to face the drummer before making a comment about it.

“I don’t think we should be here, I can tell shits about to hit the fan.”

“So can I.”

Ashton just gave him a look signaling that they should start rounding up the other two boys. Before they could take two steps in the general direction of the rest of their band, a group of people blocked their view, one person sticking out from them all with his distinct looks. He heard Ashton let out a mumbled “Oh shit” before they were greeted by Blackbear himself, or Mat Musto as they all called him.

The rapper didn’t say anything to the two boys for a while but stood between them watching Luke grind on the source of all their problems, before starting to talk.

“Wow, she still manages to keep him wrapped around her finger. Figured he would have bailed when he found her on my bus.” The boys knew that Mat never meant to start anything, he thought they weren’t together and both Calum and Ashton could tell he was sorry he was ever in the middle of this mess. Luke on the other hand never believed that Mat was played just as hard as he was.

“Don’t start anything with him tonight Mat, we were just about to get everyone out of here.”

“How come I have to just sit and hold my tongue when it’s you guys’ fans that are out for blood, I’m made to look like the bad guy when this whole thing is on her.”

“Just not tonight okay, there are way too many photographers outside to deal with this tonight….”

Calum had barely finished his sentence bore he was a fist fly past his face and land a strong punch to the rapper’s face. Everything after that was a blur, no one reacting fast enough to grab either one before they were on the group trading blows. He made eye contact with the drummer, making a silent agreement that Calum would grab Mat and Ashton, Luke. Mat was shorter than Luke and built almost like Calum, just without as much muscle mass. Due to the fact that Luke towered over them all, Ashton needed every bit of muscle to pin down the never-ending limbs of the singer. 

Calum pushed Mat out the door of the club, ignoring the flashing lights and shouted question as he pushed him into a car, shutting the door and telling the driver to take him home before he got back out of the car and headed back inside to round up his band. He was done, Luke was going to have to choose or Calum would choose for them all.  
~  
~  
~  
It took almost an hour to get everyone out of the club and back to Ashton’s house. They knew both Luke’s and Mat’s bruised faces and bloody knuckles would be plastered across every gossip magazine by morning, but no one cared about that at the moment. Both Luke and Michael were pushed on to the couch, the taller boy being closely followed by Arzaylea. Ashton opted to lean in the doorway, Calum thinks it’s to stop Luke if he tried bailing before Calum says his peace.

“What the fuck were you thinking Luke?” Ashton was almost a scary calm when he asked the question that they all had on their minds.

“He deserved it. I was tired of him walking around like he did nothing wrong.” By the end of Luke’s response, both members of the rhythm section were looking at the youngest boy like he was stupid while Arzaylea just turned her nose up at two.

“Okay… I’m about to say something very mean but very true to you Luke and if Ash has to tackle you for you to listen, I will let him.” Calum waited for the blonde to protest but when he got nothing but a glare from Luke and his girlfriend he continued. 

“Mat isn’t the fucking problem Luke, she is….No, shut the fuck up Arzaylea. Nothing but shitty things have happened to you since you started dating her, against what EVERYONE had to say about it. Our fans think we all have a drug problem because she decided to do coke on YOUR house. Mat didn’t know you guys were even still together. SHE IS THE FUCKING PROBLEM MATE!” He doesn’t know when he started yelling but when he finished the whole room seemed almost too quiet. It took almost a minute of silence before Michael spoke up.

“It’s her or us Luke, I’m not gonna stick around if you’re going to be okay with her destroying everything we worked for.”

Even though Calum was about to say the same thing, the statement through him off. Michael was never usually the one that ever made Luke do anything, that job was usually reserved for Ashton and rarely himself.

Ashton pushed himself off the wall before saying one final thing before walking out. “Make your choice dude because we're all done with this shit.”


	2. I Just Wanna Get Back To Us

Calum could hear Ashton pacing upstairs as the rest of them sat in silence. Luke was now standing in front of the large window, Michael was sitting on the kitchen counter with a beer and his gaze on nothing in particular, he himself was leaning in the door way that Ashton had abandoned. What really got to Calum was the fact that Arzaylea was in the same spot, unfazed by the ultimatum, focusing of posting every detail of her life on the internet. 

The silence stretched on for almost an hour before the pacing stopped and Calum’s phone lit up with a text from Ashton saying that it was getting late and they could crash there if they wanted but Arzaylea needed to be gone as soon as possible. He sighed before screenshotting the text and sending it to the other two boys. He heard their phones go off and a dull thud from where Luke put his forehead to the window before he spoke up.

“I’m calling you an Uber Arz. Go home, we’ll talk in the morning.”

She let out a scoff before rounding up her things and heading for the door. It wasn’t until she had been long gone that Ashton made his reappearance, heading into the kitchen with Michael, grabbing a beer for himself before going to stand next to the youngest boy. It wasn’t until Ashton had pulled Luke into his chest that Calum realized that the boy was crying. Luke pulled himself away from the drummer a few minutes later just to let himself slide down the window, sniffling to himself.

“How did I let things get this bad?” The blonde asked without really expecting anyone to answer but Michael felt the need to say what was on his mind, having built it up for months.

“Because you decided to ignore every warning anyone has given you. She could have tried to murder you and you would still keep her around just because you wanted to feel like someone needed you… I’m not sure what a band and fans really means to you but those are the people you should have been worried about needing you.”

Calum could see the anger starting to rise in Luke’s eyes before he stepped in-between them, cutting their eye contact.

“I think we all need to sleep on this. Luke you’re with me in the spare room. Ash, you good with Mike crashing with you?”

The drummer gave a soft nod before grabbing Michaels arm and dragging him out of the room and up the stair before anything could be said. Calum stayed leaning against the wall just staring at the singer, they couldn’t make it as a band without him and part of Calum was scared that Luke wasn’t going to pick them. He was dragged out of his thoughts when Luke lifted his head and started talking.

“I’m gonna fly home tomorrow…..I just need to see my family.” His voice tapered off towards the end.

“Are you taking her with you?”

“No, I need to be alone for this one.” Calum nodded at that. He got it, he was known for taking a week to himself by visiting his sister.

“Come on bub, you need to sleep off all the shots and punches you took tonight. Take some Advil before going to sleep or you’re gonna be dying in the morning.” With that he waited until Luke pushed himself off the floor before turning and heading down the hall to Ashton’s guest room. Both boys slowly striped down to their briefs before climbing under the covers.

“I’m sorry Cal….” The blonde didn’t actually say what he was apologizing for but Calum knew, he always did.

“Don’t Luke, shit just got out of hand, it’s life. You’ve only know LA culture, I’m not sure what we all expected. We should have waited a little longer before we all jumped into this, you should have been able to grow up more, we all should have.” Calum was almost crying when he finished. He loved the music and live shows, but he misses being able to go out and have fun without the world knowing every aspect of their nights.

Luke curled himself up next to Calum, long legs thrown over one of the tan boys as Calum’s hand made it’s way to push through Luke’s curls. They needed to hold it together if they were going to even make it back to the studio. Each member of the band was barely holding onto their sanity with almost every headline being negative and accusations being thrown around about the boys.  
~  
~  
~  
Luke was gone before any of the other boys woke up, heads pounding and stomachs turning. Calum ended up telling the other two Luke’s plans over a heavy breakfast.

“I think a trip home alone is something he needs, maybe Jack can knock some sense into him before we have to get back in the studio.” Ashton’s comment was almost muffled by the hands that were covering his face.

“At least we’ll have shit to write about this time.” Calum let out a light laugh at Michaels comment because, yeah writing was going to be intense no matter what Luke choses.


	3. And I’m Just A Dead Man Walking Tonight

Luke had been gone a little over a week before something seemed different at Luke’s house. Calum had gone over twice a day to feed and walk Petunia. The house had been littered with both Luke’s and Arzaylea things until suddenly it was only Luke’s, maybe he made his choice or maybe she made it for him.

The tan boy was laying on the grass of Luke’s back yard, watching the fat dog run around with his own small dog, when his phone started going off. When he glanced at the screen Jack Hemmings flashed across the screen.

“Hey Jack.”

“Hey man, I think you need to come home.” The ton of the man’s voice let Calum know that something was seriously off.

“What happened to him Jack…?” His stomach suck at the thought of Luke going completely off the deep end.

“Physically he’s fine but he hasn’t been sober since he got back. He keeps dragging me and Ben to random clubs and just ends up crying about how much he needs you and asking why he can’t be loved.” Calum wanted to cry for the boy once his brother finished talking.

“I’m assuming he knows she moved out of his house.”

“Yeah, she called him last night.”

“Okay well I’ll get a flight for tonight just let me talk to Ash or Mike about watching the dogs.”

“Sorry for dragging you back home dude but I don’t think any of us can help him.”

“I’ll see you soon mate.”

“Let me know when your flight ends, and I’ll send Ben to come pick you up, see you soon.”

With that Jack hung up, leaving Calum to get everything together last minute. He decided just to gather all of Petunias things and take the dog to his house so that one of the boys didn’t have to deal with going to both houses.  
~  
~  
~  
It was pretty late the next day by the time Calum’s flight had landed. When he climbed into the oldest Hemmings car he was told that Luke had already dragged Jack to a bar and that they would swing by their house so that Calum could change and put his stuff down. Liz seemed more than relieved when Calum walked through the door, pulling him into a tight hug and whispering thanks to him with tears starting to form in her eyes.

The boys pulled up to an all familiar dive bar almost 20 minutes later. It was the same bar they always went to when they came home on breaks, same sketchy parking lot and dying neon signs. 

“He’s a mess Cal, we didn’t know who else to call.”

“I’m glad you did. The other two are too on edge with him to try and help him.”

“Well no one has ever really been able to get in his head like you have, I almost wish he would have just dated you instead of that bitch.”

Calum froze at the statement because he had also wished that, he always wanted to be the center of the blonde’s world.

“Yeah, me too.”

Without waiting for a response from Luke’s very shocked brother, he pushed the door open and started toward the bar doors. The music was dated and loud, smelled of spilled liquor, and just as gross as he remembers. It didn’t take long for him to spot the other two Hemmings brothers from across the bar. 

Luke was clearly beyond just drunk, he was talking wildly and making gesture with his hands. There was a look of anger mixed with pain, Jack on the other hand looked almost scared as Luke seemed to be inching closer to him with his wild body movements. Calum could hear the youngest boy talking, almost yelling, from halfway across the bar. At that point Jack had met Calum’s eyes and let out a grateful sigh as him and his brother made in to the table. 

Calum knew he needed to move fast to get Luke out of the bar so the moment he was within touching distance he grabbed the back of Luke’s jacket, pulled him up and forced him toward the door, yelling at the two others to get the tab. They were almost to the doors when Luke got his feet back under him and turned to look at Calum. He leaned into the blonde before the younger could talk and whispered into his ear.

“Keep fucking walking before I lose my shit Luke.”

Luke could tell the tan boy was nothing but serious, he swallowed hard and nodded. When Calum felt Luke start to comply he let the jacket go, opting to push firmly on his lower back leading him out the door and over to his brother car. One they made it to the car Luke neared against the back bumper letting Calum grab a bottle of water he had from the front seat. He watched Luke chug the water before forcing him into the back seat so that they could head back to the Hemmings house, he hoped the boys parent had gone to bed, they didn’t need to see their son like this, they didn’t need to see him so damn broken.  
~  
~  
~  
By the time they pulled up to the house Luke was passed out in the back, leaning on his brother who Looked worried and exhausted. Ben had agreed to be the one who carried the lanky boy to his room while they the other two talked to Liz, who was sitting on the patio with a glass of wine. Jack nudged Calum’s arm to let him know he was going to grab something to eat before heading out there. Liz looked up when he slowly slid the back door open, letting the tension start to fade since her baby was home and safe.

“He passed out before we got here, Ben took him to his room.”

“Thank you honey, I’m not sure we could get through this without you.”

“He isn’t out of the woods yet, I only got him home. He has to be able to accept the fact that he got hurt before he can put himself back together.”

“Still, thank you for caring enough to come out here.” And with that she got up, empty glass in hand, heading inside. He watched the woman place a kiss on Jack’s and Ben’s cheek before making her way to bed. Jack stuck him head out the door to say goodnight to him before he also went to sleep. Calum was left on the porch for a while before Ben sat down next to him.

“I kind of always knew you loved him, Jack thought I was just seeing shit.”

“It’s not like I ever tried to hide it. He liked girl and I liked him, not like I could just make a move on him.”

“Honestly, I think he might have been a whole lot happier if you did.”


	4. Why Can't We Choose Our Emotion

Something about Ben’s comment made Calum laugh. He had accepted the fact that him and Luke were never going to happen a long ass time ago.

“If you haven’t notice I’m not exactly his type mate.”

“Bro, I don’t think my brother is as straight as you think he is. You should hear the shit that he tells me and Jack when he drinks.” Ben had a look of fondness on his face when he spoke about his baby brother. They sat in silence for a while, letting everything sink it before Calum said anything.

“Do you care if I use your car tomorrow, Mali is also home for a while and I figured I would drag the noodle with me to see my family.”

“Go for it dude, it will be good to keep him busy.”

“Thanks man.”

With that Calum stood up, giving Ben a bro hug before heading up to Luke’s room. His mind was starting to shut down from being away for so long and mentally trying to deal with everything going on. He smiled when he saw the blonde boy spread out over his covers. Ben must have changed him because he was not in a pair of basketball shorts and no shirt. Calum gently moved the boy to one side while he pulled the covers from under the mile-long limbs and over him. Once the boy was covered he pulled his own clothes out of his bag and changed, opting for a tank and underwear, then slid in next to the boy.

The movements from Calum moving Luke must have woken up the boy because once he was under the covers he turned his head to find two ocean blue eyes staring at him.

“I’m glad they called you Cal.” The statement was nothing more than a whisper

“I’ll go anywhere you need me to go bub.” Luke seemed to be thinking over what he was going to say next.

“Why do you love me?” This made Calum tense up and choke on air.

“What?”

“When ben was helping me change he said I was lucky you were in love with me… I think he thought I was still asleep.” Calum could tell that Luke was still very drunk, words slurring together.

“We’ll talk about it in the morning bubba, you need to sleep this off before we get into that. Plus, I don’t need you dead when we go to see my family tomorrow.” The drunk boy looked like he wanted to argue but Calum just pulled him to a hug, rubbing a hand down his back until the boy fell asleep again.  
~  
~  
~  
Calum was woken up by the sound of puking and low whines coming from the bathroom across the hall. He pushed himself up off the bed, joints making loud pops. Ignoring the sound and smell he plopped himself down behind the younger boy, pulling his long curls out of his face. It didn’t take long before someone else made their way down the hall to check on the blonde. Calum was thankful when Jack’s girlfriend peaked around the door frame, giving Calum a small smile and wave.

“You wouldn’t happen to have an extra hair tie, would you?”

“Yeah hold on.” The girls small figure disappeared back down the hallway. He could feel Luke’s body shake from the cold of tiles on the floor. He pushed himself closer to the boy, pushing his forehead into the space between Luke’s shoulder blades.

“Cal…” The small voice got his attention because when he lifted his head and glanced at the door Celest was holding a pink hair tie between her fingers. He gave her a small smile as a thank you before he set to work pulling Luke’s hair into a small pony tail. He sat there for a little longer before he got a text from Jack saying that he had made breakfast. By then Luke had stopped puking, instead he dry heaved every couple of minutes.

“Your brother made food, come and eat bubba.” Calum had to help Luke off the floor, leaving him leaning against the door way while he quickly grabbed a hoody and some pain killers for the shaking boy.

“Thank you...” It always surprised Calum how small Luke could make himself look. The kid had about 4 inches on Calum, but he looked like the scared teenager he had met at 13.

The two boys made their way in the kitchen, Calum’s hand rubbing soothingly against the back of Luke’s neck. When the taller boy spotted his mom, he walked up behind her chair and wrapped his arm around her in a hug, whispering what looked like an apology in her ear causing the woman to pull him closer and leave a kiss on his cheek.

Luke ended up eating mainly toast and bacon, skipping the eggs when the smell made him gag. After eating and small talk with Luke’s family they headed back to Luke’s room to change before heading to Calum’s parent’s house. They didn’t know he was here but he was pretty sure that Ashton had texted his sister because he had a text from her saying that he wasn’t allowed to go home without see them.  
~  
~  
~  
They boys were greeted by Mali the moment they opened the car doors. She wrapped him in a tight hug before quickly moving on to his best friend. She excitedly dragged them into the house, telling the two that their parent had stepped out to go to the store and would be back soon.

“As great as it is to see you both, why are you here.”

“Life was getting to hectic back in LA.” Calum spoke up before Luke had time to think about some excuse to tell Mali.

“Does it have to do with that black eye and bruised hands?” She asked staring the youngest boy down with a knowing look.

“Just let it go Mali, we came here to get a break not a lecture.”

“I wasn’t going to lecture, I’m just trying to make sure you guys are going to be okay.” She had a sad expression on her face, eyes flicking between the two boys across from her. Luke let out the breath he had been holding before he started speaking.

“I think we’ll be fine, I’m not going to let the band fall apart because I don’t know how to date decent people. I made my choice, and nothing is going to get that bad again once we go back home.”


	5. So Helpless From The Other Side

It took longer for Calum’s parent to come home than he thought it would because, by the time they were stepping through the door, Luke was asleep on the couch with his head on the tanned boy's lap who was also starting to doze off. Mali had put Mean Girls on because she knew Luke loved it, Calum had accepted it without a word because he knew the gesture meant a lot to him. Joy softly ran a hand through her son’s hair when she spotted them in the living room.

“Hey honey, we weren’t expecting you.”

Calum gave his moms hand a soft squeeze when he pried his eyes open. “He needed to come home.”

“He’s been here for a week dear, what made you follow him out here?”

“Jack called me.”

“He always responded best to you hasn’t he.”

“That’s what I keep hearing.” There was a small smile on his face as he ran a hand through his best friend’s hair, gently untangling it with his fingers. There was a calm silence that took over the house for about another half an hour before Luke shot up from Calum’s lap and ran for the bathroom. Mali gave her brother a worried look.

“Jesus, how much did he drink last night?”

“More than he usually drinks which is scary because he drinks a lot.”

Calum stood up slowly from the couch, thankful that Luke had kept his hair up after he got sick this morning. He took the familiar spot behind the blonde, one arm wrapping around his waist and another rubbing circle across his lower back. Mali joined the two not long after Calum had made it to the bathroom, handing Calum a glass of water for when the other boy finished throwing up, she slid down the door giving her brother a small smile. Calum was thankful for his sister, she always knew when he needed small moments of support. The only noise made besides the sounds of Luke heaving was a small ding of Calum’s phone going off with a text from Jack.

Jack:  
*Are you guys staying at yours?

Calum:  
*Yeah, he just got sick again and Mom is making soup.

Jack:  
*I’ll bring you guys some close and ben can grab his car.

Calum:  
*Sounds good to me

Jack:  
*Be there in 10.

Calum:  
*Front door is open when you get here

True to his word Jack was standing in the bathroom doorway ten minutes later, Calum’s duffle bag slung over his shoulder, fuller than before due to the addition of Luke’s clothes. The blondes brother crouched down next to Mali giving her a soft nod as a hello before he passed the bag over to Calum.

“You gonna be okay Lu?” His brother's voice was laced with worry

“I wanna die, Jack, everything hurts.” Calum pushed himself closer to the boy after it was said, trying to suck the pain out of the boy’s body with affection. Jack gave Calum another small smile before he said his goodbyes, collecting Ben’s keys and leaving the house.

“I think you’re done for now Bubba, let’s get you into bed until food is done.” Luke groaned when Calum and Mali pulled the boy from the floor, forcing him to down the glass of water before laying down. Luke was asleep within moments of laying down on his friend’s bed. Calum knew he had too much on his mind to even think about going to sleep so he headed back out to the kitchen.

“Is he going to be okay, baby?” The concern in his mom’s voice was evident.

“I think he will be soon. I just don’t know how to help him, Mom.”

“He has to want your help first dear, you can’t force him to let the pain in.” 

“It hurts to see him like this, he never deserved to have this happen to him.” Calum was crying by now, his sister wrapped her arms around him to give him whatever comfort she could to her brother.

“Not everyone is as in love with him as you are honey.” His mom giving him a knowing look before she turned back to the stove.

Calum let out a huff, “Do you and Ben gossip on the weekends or something because he said almost the same thing to me last night.”

“Bro, you aren’t subtle about it at all” His sister piped from behind him.  
They must have been conversing longer than he thought they were because right after his sister finished talking there was a cough from the doorway leading to the kitchen. Calum froze, not turning around to look at who it was, he knew it was Luke and he was scared to death about what the boy was going to say. There was a long pause before he felt ringed fingers slip around his wrist, pulling him toward the back door.

“Come and talk to me?” it was said like a question, but Luke wasn’t actually giving Calum an option. Neither boy said anything until the door was securely closed behind them and they had made it under the tall tree Luke always loved to sit underneath. 

“Cal why didn’t you say anything”

“What would have been the point. I accepted that you liked girls and that it would never happen a long ass time ag Luke, there was nothing to say.”

“I never once said I was straight, asshole.”

“And nothing you ever said or did say you weren’t” He knew he was being defensive, but he hated being cornered.

“You should have told me….”

“Why? It doesn’t matter right now Luke, you have 100 other more important things to worry about.” He finished with a loud sigh before he walked back to the house, leaving Luke standing under a tree with a confused expression on his face. He was stopped by his sister who pulled him into a hug.

“Can you keep an eye on him, so I can go for a run and clear my head?”

“Yeah, I need to go grab something from the store, so I’ll just take him with me.”

“Thanks, Mali, I owe you one.”

Luke was still sitting in the backyard when he came out of his room after changing into some workout clothes. He gave a quick glance to the boy before he was heading out the front door, starting a steady pace down the road.


	6. No Matter Where You Go, You Know I'd Wait For You

The serenity from Calum’s run didn’t last long once he made it home., His phone had been blowing up the last 10 minutes of said run and the messages he was receiving made heart race. Arzaylea had put not only Luke but the whole band on blast in some Instagram post. She was creating lies about him doing coke and getting escorts along with saying that they were and sexist and homophobic, which made zero sense to Calum since half the band wasn’t even straight. Luke would have seen the post by now, so he quickly found his sisters contact and pressed send.

“We’re almost back to the house, meet us outside.” Calum hadn’t said a word, he didn’t need to. He could hear Luke crying on the other side of the call before Mali had hung up. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before heading back out the front door, Mali’s car pulling up the moment the door clicked shut. The car had barely stopped before Calum was yanking the door open and pulling Luke into this chest, glancing at his sister who was starting to cry along with his friend.

“I don’t care what sh…she says about me but I…I don’t know wh…why she had to make yo…you guys look b…bad.”

“We can handle her bub. I’m worried about you and how you feel, fuck what people think about us.”

“God, I’m so sorry Cal, you guys should have just kicked me out of the band the moment shit started going south.” Luke was gripping his sweater like his life depended on it and at some point, they ended up on the ground, Luke wrapped around him while he cried.

“Luke, listen to me, babe. We couldn’t have made it this far without you. This band is nothing without your voice and writing.” Calum didn’t realize what he called Luke until Mali gave him a fond look, eyebrow raised. “Come on food is done, and you need to actually eat something.” Luke unwrapped himself from around Calum’s body before helping the other boy to his feet and pulling him into the house, never letting their hand separate until they were sitting down with Calum’s family.  
~  
~  
~  
The two boys had been laying to Calum’s bed for hours playing video games when Luke’s phone lit up with a facetime call from Ashton. The older of the two paused the game, grabbing the phone from the blonde who was just watching it ring, answering it.

“Well you aren’t the tall blonde I was looking for, but I guess you’ll do.”

“Did you want something dipshit?”

“Just checking in, figured Luke might want to say hi to his overweight child.” This made Luke perk up, that dog meant more to him than anything else did.

“Let me see my child you wet noodle.” Luke snatched the phone from the other boys had, grin growing wide at his dog popped up on the screen. Calum decided that the distraction was a good time to take a shower. He pushed Luke’s long legs off his lap before getting up to grab some clean clothes and a towel, walking out of the room and down the hall. He looked exhausted and worn out, after the last couple of weeks he’s had he was starting not to care if they ever went back on the road or recorded another song. He gave himself one last hard look bore splashing cold water on his face.

If he hadn’t been so tired he probably would have let out a very unmanly scream when he felt a pair of arms snake around his waist while he was adjusting the water so that it could heat up. His heart quickly calmed when he felt a very familiar small nose press into the hair at the base of his skull. Calum could feel the tension rolling off the taller boy’s body.

“You’re gonna be okay Luke, I know you will.” Luke shifted when Calum started speaking to him, moving his head to rest on Calum’s shoulder while the older boy leaned his cheek on his head. Calum’s hand moved to grip on to Luke’s.

“I hope so Cal, I can’t destroy this for us.” Luke gave Calum a tight squeeze before turning and heading out of the bathroom. He paused right before shutting the door, glancing at the older boy one last time and shocking Calum with what he said next.

“I think I could be in love with you too one day if you would give me the chance.” And with that the door clicked shut, leaving Calum to shower in confusion and shock

Calum has always tried to pinpoint the moment he fell in love with Luke, but he can never figure it out. Mali always told him that it wasn’t always sudden, that people tend to grow to be in love, slow and beautifully. It’s to the point where he’s starting to think that he was always in love with the boy. Something about Luke has always shined so much brighter to Calum an anyone else did, even his other bandmates.


	7. You Can Stay One More Night

By the time Calum had showered and dressed, Luke was already changed and passed out in his bed. There were too many things running through his mind to try and sleep right now so he gathered up each of their dirty clothes and the towels from the bathroom and wandered off to start the washer. The house was quiet and calm, something he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. He had just sat down on the living room couch when his dad wondered down the hall, probably seeing what the noise was.

“It’s getting pretty late Son, what are you doing up.”

“Doing laundry, I have too much on my mind.”

“You guys will make it through this, you are strong boys.” His dad was sitting in the chair across from him now, there was a certainty in his eyes that calmed Calum down a little.

“I don’t know if we can this time Dad, it’s like we're being held up by dumb luck that’s about to run out.”

“That may be true, but I don’t think it’s dumb luck, it’s the love you have for each other. The 4 of you went out into the world with just each other to lean on.” Calum just nodded at this, his father standing up to head back to bed.

“Night Dad.”

“Goodnight Calum, try and get some rest.”  
~  
~  
~  
He didn’t mean to fall asleep on the couch, honestly, he was waiting to push the clothes in the dryer and the next thing he knew he was being woken up by the sound of food being made and his sister laughing in the kitchen. He noticed that there was a blanket over him but not just any blanket, it was the one from his bed, last he checked Luke was wrapped up asleep in it. It took a couple more moments of waking up before he registered the arm that was slung over his waist and the soft snoring coming from behind him. When he tried to slowly slide out from under the boy's arm he was pulled back into Luke’s chest.

“No. You’re warm, cuddle me.”

“Luke, I need to pee.”

“No.”

“I promise I will come back and cuddle you, but I really need to take a piss.”

Luke grumbled before he let the smaller boy get up and go to the bathroom. He still had circles under his eyes and worry lines across his forehead. After going pee he brushed his teeth and ran a brush through his hair then headed back into the living room.

“I’m gonna put our clothes in the dryer then come back and cuddle, okay?” He was running a hand through Luke’s curls as he spoke to him.

“I did it last night when I came out here, it kept beeping.” With that Luke grabbed Calum’s hand and pulled him over the back of the couch and maneuvered him into the space between his body and the back of the couch. 

“Jesus Lu, you almost killed me.”

“Shh, cuddle me and go back to sleep.” Calum let out a long sigh before turning to face his best friend, allowing the blonde to wrap as many limbs around his that he could. He now had a head of curly hair tucked under his chin, arms wrapped around his waist, and two long legs tangled with his. Not to mention that Luke had half of his body on top of Calum’s, making it impossible to move.

“Hey, boys brea……. uhm.” Mali was taking in the mound of tangled limbs with a fond smile. Calum’s fingers froze were they had been sliding through the hairs at the base of Luke’s skull for the last 15 minutes.

“Give us a second Mal, he fell back asleep.” She gave him a soft nod before heading back into the kitchen. Calum pushed Luke’s hair out his face before shaking his shoulder in an attempt to wake the boy back up.

“You need to wake up sunshine, breakfast is ready.” Luke blinked up at him before shoving his face back into Calum’s shoulder, mumbling. 

“I’m too comfy to move.” As if the world knew what the boy was saying his stomach started to grumble in protest.

“Nope, get up and eat or I’m dragging you by your ear.”

“Okay, mom.” Calum let out a puff, untangling their limbs and standing up and stretching. 

“God, why do I love you.” It wasn’t more than a barely there, whisper to himself but the blush on Luke’s face let him know that it was loud enough to hear.

“Get up and don’t say a word you noodle.” He commanded when he saw a smirk growing across the blonde’s face. He knew the statement boosted his ego and regretted it the moment he knew that Luke heard him. Luke let out a soft giggle before he stood up and headed toward the kitchen, leaving a soft kiss on the blushing bass player’s face. Luke was going to kill him and knowing himself he was going to let the boy. When he finally made it into the kitchen both his sister and best friend were seated at the table, Luke whispering in her ear. Neither of them looked up until his mother greeted him. When he sat down, across from the two, he noticed that they were both smirking. Luke glanced over at Mali, giving her a fist bump, making her smirk grow larger.

“I don’t know what you two are up to but I don’t like it.”

“We aren’t up to anything, Luke here just need some advice.”

“I still don’t like it.”

Luke was trying to hide his giggles while Mali kept her gaze firmly on her brother, giving him a wink before getting up to rise her plate off. He felt Luke’s ankles tap on of his, rubbing lightly against his in an attempt to calm the boy down.

“Not going to work Hemmings.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Hood.”

There it was again, another fucking wink. This trip home was being to drive him nuts.


	8. Stop Trying So Hard Is What You Said To Me

Mali cornered her brother in the hallway outside of his room. He was waiting for Luke to finish taking a shower and decided to fold the clothes he had washed the night before but before he could make it back into his room, he was trapped. Mali had a firm grip on the basket and a look that only meant trouble.

“I’m taking you boys out tonight.”

“The last thing he needs to do is drink Mali, this isn’t a good idea.”

“He already said he would behave, you’re the one who needs a night out dipshit.”

“If something bad happens, I swear I’m going to hide out at Luke’s until I leave.”

“Everything will be fine, have some faith in me.”

Calum let out a sigh and gave his sister a small nod before turning around and heading into his room. He was going to have to go shopping before they went out since nothing Calum brought really screamed clubs. He shot his sister a text about using her car to go shopping which she unsurprisingly said they should all go to find new clothes.   
~  
~  
~  
No more than an hour later the three of them were walking through the mall, both boys wearing baseball caps and sunglasses in an attempt to avoid as many people as they could. He could feel Luke grip tightly on his wrist every time they had to push through a large crowd. The longer they were in the mall the more crowded it seemed to get. Both boys kept their heads down as the crowd got thicker, the shoving leaving Luke gripping sleeve of Calum’s sweater like his life depended on it.

The tugging on his sweater was starting to get on his nerves, he kept having to adjust the way it was sitting to keep from being choked. He finally pulled Luke’s fingers off the material and replaced it with his own hand, giving the taller boy’s a light squeeze. He could see Luke blushing out of the corner of his eye, but he was too worried about him getting a panic attack while being in such a crowded place. He felt Luke push himself closer to himself, letting his free hand grip Calum’s bicep as a way to keep him close. Calum’s thoughts wondered to how he had always wanted something like this with Luke but the fact that it was happening while the other boy was in such a vulnerable state scared him.

He didn’t want to push the boy or have him think that jumping into something with Calum was what he needed instead of what he wanted.

“Cal.” There was a light tugging at his arm that drew him from his thoughts.

“Sorry, I was zoning off.”

“You almost walked past the store.” Luke was looking at him with wide eyes and a face full of concern.

“Shit, sorry. Let get this over with, the longer we’re here the more chances we have of getting mobbed.”

The boys split ways with his sister once they made it into the less crowded store. Calum thought that Luke would have detached himself once they started looking around but that wasn’t the case. He seemed to be pushing himself closer, resting his chin on the shorter boys shoulder every time they stopped to look at something, leaving Calum to grab things for both boys since they were basically the same size.

“Do you need to try any of these things on Bub or are you just going to hope for the best?”

“Hope for the best. I don’t want to be here forever.”

“Let’s go find Mali then and get out of here. Maybe even stop by that Cinnabon place you like so much on the way out.”

When they found Mali, she was just heading into the fitting room with a pile of dresses. Not wanting to sit and watch her try everything on the boys opted to pay and meet her at the car, promising her that they would grab her some food also. They could smell the place before they could see it, in typical mall fashion. He should have known they someone at some point was going to recognize them, especially at some food place that mostly teenagers work at.

“What can I get…..oh my god.” The outburst made Luke pull himself away from his bandmate.

“Hello, you must be a fan.”

“Yeah, a huge one. I doubt you want to hear about that right now, you guys seem like you want to be left alone. What can I get for you guys today.”

“Just three of your originals please.” He felt Luke tug on his sleeve when he went to pull money out of his pocket.

“Can I get the one with Chocolate?” The blonde was blushing over the request. Calum just gave him a soft nod before turning to the girl.

“Actually, can you make one of those the Chocolate covered one.”

“Of course, … By the way, I’m glad you two finally got together.” 

Without waiting for a reply, she turned to make their food, leaving both boys flustered and slightly confused. The grabbed their food and headed for the car, wanting to get away from the large bodies of people that were swerving around them. Luke was already halfway done with his by the time they made it to his sister’s car, a smudge of chocolate on the tip of his pixie-like nose. Calum let out a chuckle before leaning over to wipe it off.

“It’s supposed to go in your mouth, not on your nose Lu.”

Luke watched the hand come up to his face and slowly wipe the sauce from his nose. What Calum really wasn’t expecting was for the boy to grab his hand when he tried to pull away, putting the chocolate covered thumb in his mouth and sucking. If he wasn’t already sitting Calum’s legs would have gone out from under him as he let out a small whimper.

“Luke, you can’t just do that oh my god.”

Before Luke could even pull Calum’s hand away from his face, the driver’s side door was opening leaving a very confused and amused Mali staring at them.

“You guys ready to go or should I give you a minute.”

“Shut up and get in the car Mali.”


	9. We Know We're Classic Together Like Egyptian Gold

The scene was all too familiar to Calum. He was once again in some dark night club with sweaty bodies grinding against each other. The only difference this time is that there wasn’t a sense of dread that something horrible was going to happen. He was at the bar watching his sister and Luke jump around wildly to the song blasting through the speakers. The blonde had been slowly drinking beer, true to his word of behaving, leaving Calum to down Jack and Cokes by himself since his sister was driving. They stayed like that for a while, Calum contently watching two people he loved while letting liquid courage melt off his tension and worry about everything that has been happening with Luke. He needed another drink, so he waved the young bartender over, ignoring her flirty remarks.

“Come dance with us Cal.” There was suddenly a chin rested on top of his head and arms draped over his shoulders, Luke’s thin fingers playing with his necklace.

“You know I don’t dance Lu.”

“Please Cally….” Luke knew that he wasn’t able to say no to that tone of voice, he had been using it against the boy for years.

“Jesus fuck, fine. Only if you stop whining.” Calum downed his drink before lacing his fingers with Luke’s and dragging him out to the middle of the dancefloor where his sister was still dancing by herself. 

The song was fast and upbeat, it was easy for Calum to fall into rhythm with the other twos jumping. He could feel the alcohol starting to seep into his bloodstream, this just urged him on as he crept closer to Luke’s body. The world could be ending, and he would still be just as happy as he was now. The song quickly changed to something more sexual, to rhythm of Calum’s hips changed without hesitation and he felt a broad chest plaster itself to his back and soft hands find his.

“And you said you don’t dance.” He could feel Luke trying to hide his smirk by pressing his face into Calum shoulder.

“I only dance if it’s with the right people Lu.” They danced like this for a couple more songs, content to just be pressed against each other in some sweaty club before Mali came searching for them with a panicked expression.

“I think we need to leave.”

“Why? Mali what’s wrong?”

“There are pictures of you two all over twitter. Like you guys holding hands and even some from inside the club here. There are rumors flying around like crazy and Mikes been trying to get ahold of you for an hour.” She was out of breath when she finished.

“Why can’t people just leave us to the fuck alone. Luke go grab our shit, I’ll close the tab.”

They were met with a wall of yelling and flashing lights the moment they stepped out of the club. Luke was placed in between both Hood siblings, effectively keeping him barricaded from insulting questions being thrown his way.

“Is it true that Arzaylea was just your beard?” “Did you cheat on her with your band mate?” “Are you going to rehab for your coke problem?”

Mali strode around to the other side of the car while Calum shoved Luke into the backseat before turning around and confronting everyone.

“He’s literally been through hell this last month and the last thing he or anyone else in the band needs is you all spreading rumors about shit that isn’t true. He never cheated, he doesn’t do drugs and for fucks sake he wasn’t covering anything up.”

He was fuming by the time he was buckled into his sister’s car. 

“Are you two coming back home with me or am I dropping you off at Luke’s?” Calum glanced back at his friend, giving him the choice instead of answering for him.

“Mine is fine Mali, thanks. My family probably has 100 questions for me anyways.”

There wasn’t much for any of them to say. They were going to have to have a band chat in the morning with the other two who are, according to the text Mike sent Mali, “Getting on a plane ASAP to try and fix this never-ending mess.” Calum was thankful that the only people who seemed to be up at Luke were Jack and Ben, sitting on the front steps waiting for them. Luke must have texted them. Both of the older brothers looked tired and worried when the two younger boys stepped out of the car, saying their goodbyes to his older sister.

“Soooooo, anything we need to know Lu?”

“Not that I’m aware of. Unless you guys also think I have a drug problem.” It was a harsh question but there was a small smile on Luke’s face that let them know he wasn’t to upset at the rumor.

“Oh no, I was talking about you two being joined together at the hips in every photo being posted on twitter.” Jack seemed more amused by this than he should be, he knew he wasn’t going to get a solid answer, but it was fun to watch his brother squirm.

“We’re a band of cuddlers, what can I say.” Ben let out a laugh at this, smirking widely at Calum.

“Alright dweebs, let go get you inside. I’ll start a movie and won’t even be mad if you cuddle.” Ben was laughing hysterically at this, taking in Calum’s very embarrassed facial expression. 

After changing to some comfortable clothes, Calum sat himself in the comfy love seat that the Hemmings had always had and Calum had always loved. Luke had run to his bedroom to grab blankets while Jack found a movie for them all to watch. He could feel Ben staring at him from across the room, when they made eye contact he gave Calum an approving nod, like he was silently giving the boy his blessing. Next thing he know, he’s being landed on by a 6’2 pile of limbs and blankets. There was giggling coming from above him and bright blue eyes peaking at him from behind his comforter.

“You really need to stop trying to kill me every time you want to cuddle Bubba.”

Luke just smiled at him as he stood up to straighten out the blanked and let Calum shift into a comfortable position. Once the taller boy got himself straightened out he gently plopped himself in-between Calum’s legs, resting his head on the boy’s shoulder and absentmindedly started playing with the little charm on Calum’s necklace. Calum felt content, almost like this was going to be the turning point for them, like shit was only going to get better from there.


	10. While I'm Cleaning Up Your Mess

It must have been around 3 am by the time the two boys dozed off. It had been around 10 when they had made it back to Luke’s house and nearing 3 pm by the time he was being woken up. Calum was pulled out of his sleep by the sounds of voices talking in the kitchen. Michael and Ashton must have gotten here, along with Mali. He could hear his older sibling talking with their bandmates about how to handle the press and what the hell was going on between Luke and Calum.

“It took the overgrown idiot long enough to figure out Calum was in love with him. He couldn’t have picked worse timing thought.”

“You don’t really plan those things out, Mike. What I want to know is what’s going on with them now. If Luke knows then how come Calum seems to be keeping distance between them.”

“Jesus Ash, it so fucking obvious. Luke is scared of being alone and Cal doesn’t want him to decide they should date just because he wants to feel wanted. How do you think we got in this mess in the first place?”

“Both of you need to stop. He fucked up with Arzaylea but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to be happy. My brother is just trying to make sure he doesn’t feel pressured into anything.”

“Mali, he wouldn’t know a good person if they hit him in the face. I just hope Luke doesn’t drag Cal down with him.”

Calum was mad now. His bandmates came all this way just to be assholes and he wasn’t just going to lay here and listen to it. When he went to shift his body out from under Luke he was greeted with tear-filled baby blues that were filled with nothing but pain.

“Go to your room bub, this is about to get loud and you don’t need to listen to it.”

Luke gave him a sift nod, wrapping himself back in his blanket before walking away sniffling. Calum pushed himself up from his place on the love seat and strode into the kitchen, anger radiating off of him.

“ARE YOU TWO FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!”

“Cal, we didn’t…” He stopped his sister with a raise of his hand. He wasn’t done, not even close.

“You two flew out here just to be fucking assholes? He doesn’t need this right now, we are supposed to be helping him, protecting him. All you guys are doing is making him feel 100x worse.”

“I’m just fucking telling the truth. He can’t go anywhere without getting himself blasted across some trashy tabloid.”

“If this is about his image then you two can just go back to LA, I don’t need your help fixing this. He isn’t some corporate robot, he’s human and he makes mistakes! He never turned his back on you when you made some stupid ass remarks in Rolling Stone Mike.” Neither boy responded.

“Go home Mali, take them with you.”

Calum took the groups silence as a perfect time to leave them. He headed down the hallways toward Luke’s room when he was stopped by the oldest Hemmings brother. He received a comforting pat on his back and a mouthed thank you before he started towards the kitchen, hopefully, to tell the two dipshits to leave. Luke needed him, so he didn’t wait around to hear what was said. The further down the hall he got, the louder the boy's sobs were. The door was cracked open like Luke knew the boy would soon join him.

“Luke…..”

“How come everyone is allowed to fuck up except for me?! Michael starts shit with Bieber and your dick gets blasted across the internet and I’m suddenly the Anti-Christ for dating the wrong girl.” Luke’s tears were no longer cause of pain but anger, he was being a scapegoat for all the bad publicity they racked up as a band.

“They don’t think you’re the Anti-Christ Luke. Mike just doesn’t know how to handle these situations. Let me remind you about how he ignored me for a week when the Snapchat shit happened.”

“I would rather he ignored me than the thought of me the way he does. I don’t need someone to depend on me, sorry I’m not as emotionally closed off as him….. I like trying to see the best in people, it’s the only way I can keep sane with the shit we see every day.” Calum had slotted himself behind the boy while he was on his rant, wrapping his arms around his torso and legs around his waist.

“And I love you for that. You’ve managed to be the least jaded one out of all of us and you’ve seen the most shit so far. You’re one of the purest-hearted people I know. So, to answer the question form the other night, that you probably don’t even remember, that’s why I love you. You make me see hope when I see none.”

Both boys laid in silence for a while before Calum could hear Luke’s tiny snores. The taller boy had tucked himself into Calum’s side before he said one last thing before letting sleep take over.

“I never really loved her, she was just my distraction.”

This shocked Calum. Everyone in the band had sworn Luke was head over heels for this girl, why else would he let her get away with so much shit. He couldn’t understand what Luke needed a distraction from, was living on the road too hard for him? Their whole world has been thrown upside down more times than they could count. Always moving to new places has done a number on all of them but maybe Luke struggled more than the rest.


	11. I Won't Break Your Heart Again

Calum laid in bed with Luke until way past sunset before his anger for his other two bandmates got the best of him. He slowly slid out from under Luke’s arm, pulling the skateboard from Luke closet where it had been since they were 15. Mali had texted him earlier in the day telling him that the other two were crashing in his room for the night. Their houses weren’t too far from each other, maybe 20 minutes by foot. The night air was cool as he boarded down the street that was all too familiar to him, the park they always went to when they snuck out tucked into a corner of the neighborhood. They spent countless nights there getting drunk off of cheap beer supplied by his older sister.

He reached his house fairly quickly, every light in the house was off but he could hear the soft voices floating down from his open window. He slid through the front door silently and made his way up the stairs to his room, scaring the other two when he flung the door open.

“Get up and put your shoes on.”

“It’s fucking late Calum, what the hell are you doing?”

“Shut up Mike and put your damn shoes on.” The two older boys did as they were told, scared expressions plastered across their faces. He must have been louder than he intended to be because when he turned around to head back downstairs he was met with his very tired mother. He walked up to her and pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning her around.

“Everything is fine mom, go back to sleep.”

Once his mom had made it back to her room he gave his friends a stern look, motioning to follow him out of the house. He was already skating over to the old park when the boys made it out of his house. His two bandmates approached him wearily, they could see the anger radiating from his body.

“Why the hell did you guys even come here?”

“We thought you might need some extra support, well I thought you might need it.” Ashton’s voice was soft like he was scared of saying the wrong thing.

“And you brought Michael with you why? So you could have someone to talk shit with?” He directed the question to Ashton but kept a heavy glare at Michael.

“He didn’t really give me choice…. Plus, I wasn’t even the one talking shit, that’s on him, not me.”

“Someone needs to tell him to stop being an idiot and I knew neither of you was going to do it.”

“HE DIDN’T EVEN DO ANYTHING WRONG MICHAEL!”

“He let her drag us all through the mud Calum.”

“What is your fucking point, Mike. You made every Bieber fan hate us at one point, the world has seen my dick, and frankly, every one of us has said something to make us look bad. He isn’t the fucking problem here Mike, she is!” Michael looked at Calum like he had punched him in the face. When Calum turned his back to the two to make sure they hadn’t woken anyone in the neighborhood up he noticed two people sitting on his front porch.

“Be a decent friend or go home, either way, you guys need to find somewhere else to crash after tonight.”

He didn’t wait for a response before walking away from them, skateboard in hand. The park had become overgrown since the boys moved away, no one maintaining it over the years. It was like the moment their lives started falling apart so did their old safe heaven. The two bodies on his porch stood up as he walked closer. He could tell it was Luke and his sister, the blonde boys frame towering over hers.

“you weren’t answering your phone, so I called Mali.”

“Sorry I left you Lu, I just needed to take care of something.”

“You didn’t have to yell at them for me Cal.”

“I know but if I don’t protect you who will?” Calum saw a flash of pain flash across the boy’s face before he was pulling Calum into a tight hug, fingers lacing into the raven hair on the back of his skull.

“Come one, Mali said she would drive us home. Plus, I think there is Ice cream in the Freezer.” Luke slid his hand into the shorter boys once he finished talking, dragging him to Mali’s SUV, pulling Calum into the backseat with him.  
~  
~  
~  
True to his word, Luke sat himself down on the bed with a tub of chocolate ice cream and two spoons. Calum had put on some cheese movie from Netflix, content with shoving his face with ice cream and cuddling Luke until they fell asleep. The calm silence last all but 10 minutes before the younger boy let out a shocked noise before rolling off the bed and shoving his body under his bed. The sudden movement should have shocked Calum, but he just found it hysterical, that was until Luke pulled himself up with an almost full bottle of Vodka in his hand and a smirk plastered across his face.

“You’re 21 and you still have alcohol hidden under your bed?”

“I’m pretty sure this was from when I was like 17.” Luke let out a giggle at the thought of him hiding such a thing from his mom.

“Well grab some shot glasses bub, we’re getting wasted.”  
~  
~  
~  
They were halfway through the bottle when the alcohol really started to hit Calum. It was like the whole world went into slow motion and the only thing in focus was Luke, who was laying on his back with his arms in the air. The blonde was giggling at the feeling of gravity trying to yank his arm down. He isn’t sure what took over him but Calum’s body seemed to start moving on its own, landing him right on top of Luke’s lap. He slowly slotted his fingers with Luke’s pushing his hands to rest above his head and faces way too close to each other.

“Have I ever told you how pretty you are. You always just look so soft and pure.”

“No, you haven’t but you should definitely start.”

“You’re the prettiest boy I have ever seen.” Their faces were close enough for Calum to feel Luke’s breathing start to speed up.

“Hey Lu, can I….”

Luke didn’t wait for Calum to finish the question, he just pushed his head up and pressed a soft kiss you Calum’s mouth. One of Calum’s hand slipped from the other boys and down to cradle his face while their mouths slowly slotted together, both too drunk to put any more effort into it.

“It’s 4 in the morning why are…….oh shit.” Bens voice cause Calum to snap out of his Luke centered haze, leaving him to whine and shove his face into the other's shoulder.

“Ben, please get the fuck out of my room.”

“Try and keep it down before mom ends up being the one catching you two getting off.”

“We weren’t getting off now get the hell out.”

Even after the oldest Hemmings brother had left they both knew the mood was ruined so both boys stripped down to their boxers, too drunk to care about being embarrassed, and cuddled together under the blankets. Calum had just enough energy to place a soft kiss on the other forehead before sleep took over.


	12. I Want Your Love In Every Flavour

Calum was pulled from his sleep by a weight resting on his hips and a nose nuzzling into his neck. Calum let his arms wrap around the taller boy before giving him a tight squeeze.

“I don’t feel good Cal,” Luke whines from above him, shoving his face further into his neck.

“That’s what happens when you drink and eat an entire tub of ice cream babe.”

“Make it stop.” Luke sounded life he was about to cry so Calum rolled Luke off of his chest and got up.

“Let me grab you some painkillers then I’ll go make you some food.” All he received was a smile from the boy before he flung the covers up over his head.

Calum pulled a t-shirt on over his head before heading to grab Advil from the bathroom, chucking the bottle at the lump on the bed and heading toward the kitchen. The house was quiet since both of Luke parents were at work and the two older boys seemed to be out. He placed his phone on the counter so that his music could be heard throughout the kitchen while he made food. 

“You two already act like you’re married, Jesus.” The voice caught him off guard making him drop the spatula he was using to make pancakes.

“You can’t sneak up on someone like that Ben, what the fuck.”

“It’s not my fault you didn’t hear the front door shut.” Calum gave him another glare before turning around to flip the pancakes over.

“There’s some extra batter if you want some.”

“That would be great. Do you want me to go get your boyfriend?”

“We aren’t……yeah, please.” The look Ben shot him was enough for him to know that arguing was going to get him nowhere.

They had been sitting at the table for a when Calum remembered that they were supposed to be back in the studio next week. A huge part of him didn’t want to go back to LA, he was enjoying being secluded from the world.

“We need to book our tickets back home soon Lu.”

“I know, I was thinking about that this morning.”

“Do you want b=me to just get us one that lands the night before we have to write?”

“I kind of want to go home sooner, I miss my dog.”

“We can leave tomorrow night if you want.”

“That sounds good to me.”  
~  
~  
*Sorry for such a large time jump*  
~  
~  
The boys spent the next 24 hours spending as much time as they could with each of their family before boarding an afternoon flight back to LA. Neither of them heard from their other bandmates but Calum sends a short text to Ashton as they were waiting for the plane to take off. They were going to be alone, properly alone once they made it home and little did Calum know, Luke was planning to make the most of it. They spent the flight home in comfortable silence, fingers laced together and music playing through their headphones.

Luke was fast asleep by the time they reached their layover in New York. Calum eased the sleepy boy up and out of the plane, finding the next terminal fast so they Luke could lay back down until they had to board. He was starting to get hungry which means Luke would also be hungry, so he laid the boy down and headed to a Starbucks a couple terminals down to grab them each a drink and snack. His hood was pulled up over his headphones in hopes of not causing a scene. He manages to make it back to where he had left the blonde only to find him awake and talking tiredly to who he assumed was a fan.

“I got you some food.” He passed the items over while giving the young girl a kind smile.

“Thanks, Samantha here was telling me about how we were her first concert.”

“Oh sweet! You kind of got robbed with that though, we aren’t that great.” The girl giggled at that.

“I don’t think I would have wanted it to be anyone else, you guys helped me a lot when I started listening to you.” Luke’s face lit up at that as he scooted closer to the girl.

“I’ll let you in on a secret, the band helped me too. I don’t know what I would do without them.”

“I’m glad you 4 have each other. Also, you guys make a great couple.” And with that, she walked away with Luke yelling ‘thank you’ as she went.

“This is why everyone thinks the 4 of us are dating.”

Luke didn’t get to respond as they were being called to board their last flight home. They were seated toward the back of the plane with a young girl in the window seat of their row. Calum could tell she was a fan because the moment they sat down the small girl was blushing and avoiding eye contact. He motioned to Luke who smiled when he saw the girl’s reaction to them being next to her. He quickly grabbed two of the random guitar picks he had at the bottom of his backpack, surprisingly finding one of Luke’s and motioning for him to set them on the tray they were folded down in front of her. Her eyes went wide when she saw Luke’s hand in her line of vision, leaving the little triangles in front of her.

“Thank you…” it was a soft voice and came a little while after she was given the items.

“No problem love, we appreciate you guys sticking by us for so long.” 

Luke squeezed his hand as Calum finished talking, pulling the boys hand up to leave a kiss across his knuckles. The two boys stayed clinging to each other for the flight to LA, never once letting the other go. It wasn’t until they landed that a look of uncertainty flashed across Luke’s face.

“Can I stay at your place, I don’t think I can go home yet…” Calum had forgotten about Luke not being used to having an empty house. He hasn’t lived alone since he bought it and before that, they were all 4 sharing an apartment.

“Of course you can, your dogs at my house anyways bub.”


	13. Then You Come And Change It All

It was dark by the time the boys made it to Calum’s house. They took both dogs for a quick walk before settling down on the couch to watch some cheesy romcom Luke wanted to see. The blonde had his head on Calum’s lap and both dogs cuddle around his legs, eyes blinking slower every time Calum glanced down at him. Calum was running his fingers through the boy’s curls as he slowly fell asleep, 45 minutes left in the movie. This was perfect to Calum, domestic in every way he had always wanted. He was pulled from his thoughts when his phone lit up with a text from Ashton.

Ashton:  
*Fair warning, Mikes plane just landed and I won’t put it past him to instantly go to yours.

Calum:  
*Jesus. He better show up with a new attitude because Luke is staying at mine and I’m not dealing with him making the boy cry again.

Ashton:  
*I think he wants to apologize actually. He felt like shit when you left us in the park the other night.

Calum:  
*Good. See you when you come home bud.

Ashton:  
*See you in a few days, good luck.

He was glad that his room was on the same floor as his living room because there was no way he was going to be able to carry Luke up or down any flights of stairs. He slowly slid his body out from under the other boy’s head before swooping down to pick Luke up. Both dogs trailed slowly behind Calum as he placed Luke on his bed. Petunia was the first up on the bed, Duke struggling because of his short legs. Both boys had changed before starting to the movie so Calum quickly shed his shirt and slid in beside the blonde. His eyes had just slipped shut when the unmistakable sound of someone banging on his door forced him to sit up. This cause both dogs to bark and Luke grumble and push himself up.

“I swear to god I’m going to fucking kill him.”

“Who the hell is showing up at almost 3 am.”

“It’s Mike, go back to sleep bub. I’ll tell him to go home.” He pushed himself up with a huff and stomped his way past his living room and down the stair to his front door before pulling it open and grabbing Michael by the shirt.

“What made you think that pounding on my door at 3 in the morning was a good idea you fucking moron.” Michael looked too scared to speak but Calum felt a face bury itself in the spot between his shoulder blades.

“Let him go, Cal, the neighbors are going to call the cops if they see you beating the shit out of him in your front door.” Calum’s grip loosened as Luke finished talking. He could hear the sleep in the other boy’s voice and feel the irritation radiating off of his body.

“Talk fast Mike before I actually let him kill you. We were both in bed.”

“I came to apologize. I’ve been a shitty friend and was blaming you for the shit that Arzaylea was causing.”

“That couldn’t have waited until morning Mike, I literally just got us both into bed, he was sound asleep.”

“I just felt like shit about it.”

“Well now that we have that out of the way why don’t you just crash in the guest room so that we can all get some sleep.” With that he turned both himself and Luke around, heading back for his room and Michael sorted himself out in the room downstairs.

Luke was still plastered to Calum’s back when they made it to his room, soft kisses being placed on the skin right under the base of his skull. The moment Calum shut the door he was being spun around and pressed against the cold wood. Luke’s face less than an inch from his, sides of both of their noses bumping before Luke leaned in to press their mouths together. Calum was all but melting into the door when he felt a soft but strong head trail up his torso and wrapped itself around his throat. Luke spun them around, mouths still pressed together and his hand never leaving Calum, pushing them both onto the bed. Calum was quickly straddled by the taller boy, his hips softly grinding above his in an effort to push himself closer to Calum. They were pulled back to reality by the chime of his phone. Luke’s body slowly slid off him, huffing as he laid down next to Calum

Mikey:  
*Thanks for not killing me

Calum:  
*You have the worst timing and I hope you know that I hate you.

Mikey:  
*Remember to wrap it up.

“I fucking hate him.” Luke sounded as pissed off as he felt.

“Yeah me too.”

The mood was completely ruined now, and they were going to have to talk about this before they went any further. Calum silently laid himself down next the blond and pulled the covers back over them both before pulling Luke so that his head was now resting on his tanned chest. He wanted for this thing with Luke to be real, but he was so scared of Luke feeling obligated to return his feelings.

“You know we’re going to have to talk about whatever this is, right.”

“Tomorrow. For now, I just wanna sleep.” Luke’s voice was soft, almost scared.

“Get some rest babe.”

Calum pulled Luke closer, placing a soft kiss on his temple before letting his head rest. They were walking a thin line and Calum could very easily end up being the broken one if they weren’t careful. He knew Luke was still trying to get past all the shit Arzaylea did to him and he didn’t want to push him. Tomorrow would hopefully bring answers for them all.


	14. The Lipstick Stain Fades With Time

Calum wasn’t surprised when he was the first one up the next morning, he and Ashton were always up before the other two. He glanced down at the boy who was curled up to his side before sliding slowly out of bed. Petunia was quick to take his place next to Luke, snuggling into his side. He pulled on a shirt before heading down the hallways to the kitchen, pulling what he needed for breakfast out before connecting his phone to the speaker. He scrolled through Spotify before deciding on Billie Eilish, Ocean Eyes starting off the playlist. The music was blasting, and she got to work making eggs and bacon for him and his bandmates. He nearly dropped the plate he had in his hand when his music stopped, and a voice started talking.

“So, you and Luke eh?”

“Honestly I don’t even know dude.”

“You both need to be careful with this.”

“Trust me, Mike, I know that. I am so scared of him jumping into this because he feels pressured to or because he’s trying to fill a void.”

“He knows you’re in love with him, right?”

“Yeah, apparently everyone does.”

“Yeah well, you did always make it so obvious.”

“I just don’t think I can start something with him just to have him back out. I won’t make it if that happens.” By now Michael was sat on the counter next to him, while he had his back to the door while he cooked.

“I think you’ll both be fine. I’ve always told Ash that he was smitten with you.” When Calum glanced over at Michael he noticed a smirk across the boy’s face and felt long arms wrap themselves around his waist.

“I promise not to break your heart if you don’t break mine.” Luke’s voice was soft and timid.

“I don’t think I could even if I tried, Lu.” 

He leaned his head back to rest on Luke’s shoulder and the arms around his waist tightened around him. He was glad that he had just turned the stove off when Luke came out or food would have definitely been burned.   
~  
~  
~  
Michael had left the boys on their own not long after they ate, claiming he missed his own bed and needed a shower. Calum was currently straddling Luke’s hips as they lazily kiss, hips barely shifting against each other. Their bodies moved together like they had been doing this for years, fitting perfectly against each other as things slowly started to heat up. Luke’s hands trailed down to slide in-between Calum’s sweats and underwear, squeezing them harshly and forcing a moan out of the tan boy. Calum’s hips shifted harder into Luke’s, his fingers gripping into the blonde hair at the back of his head.

“Jesus babe…” Calum let his forehead rest on Luke’s shoulder and he slowly ground his hips down, soft whimpers leaving his mouth.

“If you keep making those noises Cal, I’m going to have to wreck you.” The voice in his ear was deep and sexy, sending shivers up his spine

Calum pushed his hips harder into the ones underneath him, relishing in the feeling of Luke’s hands kneading his ass. He started Kissing at Luke’s neck, sucking small bruises under his ear. Both boys were getting harder with the friction between their clothed cocks. He was in heaven and the only thing keeping him from completely letting go was the fact the this is the first time he’s ever been with a guy.

“Lu, I’ve never…. ya know.”

“Slept with a guy?”

“Yeah…”

“Neither have I but I think I’ve watched enough porn to figure it out…. If you want.”

Calum gave no response, just a rushed nod before pulling his shirt off and attacking Luke’s neck. His blood was rushing in his ears and there was fire spreading over every inch of skin that Luke was touching. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but Luke hands were pushing themselves under is briefs, effectively pulling them and his sweatpants down under his ass. He felt like his whole body was lit on fire but in the best way possible because Luke was leaving love bites all over his chest and letting his hands wander into the space between his ass cheeks. 

“Too many clothes Lu, you need to get naked now.”

“Then help me take them off, babe.”

Calum smiled down at the boy before leaning back and pulling Luke’s shirt over his head. He remembers when Luke was a tall, lanky kid with almost no muscle mass. That wasn’t the boy he was looking at now. The boy in front of him was broad and muscular, everything about him was dominating. Calum slid onto the floor in from of Luke before pulling Luke’s shorts down under his raised hips. Calum wasn’t sure what turned him on more, Luke not wearing underwear or how amazing he looked naked. Before he could find an answer he was pulled to his feet and into the space between Luke’s legs. Kisses were being places randomly across his stomach as Luke’s fingers slowly dipped into his waistband, pulling them down around his ankles.

“God, you’re so gorgeous, Cal.” He was kissing lower as he praised the boy, heading for his raging hard-on.

“As cool as a blowjob sounds I don’t think I’ll last if you don’t just get inside me, babe.” Luke pressed his forehead into his hip, letting out a groan.

“If I wasn’t so turned on right now I would make you cum until you couldn’t. Another day though babe.”

There was little to no time in-between when Luke finished his sentence to when Calum was lifted from the floor, legs wrapping around Luke’s body as he carried him to the bedroom. Calum savored the feeling of Luke’s strong hand gripping tightly to his thighs, harsh enough to leave bruises and soft enough for it to feel good. Over the last few weeks, Calum had almost forgotten how dominant Luke was as a person. Once Luke made it to the room and kicked the door shut he was throwing Calum on the bed, flipping his body over and pulling on his hips. Luke’s face came into view, giving him a few short pecks before grabbing something from his duffle bag.

“Hand and knees babe.”


	15. Cut Me Open, Take My Heart

When Calum woke up the next day his chest felt 10x lighter than it did the day before. He could smell food being cooked and light laughter coming from his kitchen, this would have been fine if Luke wasn’t still asleep next to him. They had gotten done with their sexual escaped pretty early the day before and decided to binge watch some Netflix show and order in pizza until some late hour in the morning. He body was sore and getting out of bed seemed to take a lot more effort than it should have. He grabbed a shirt from the floor and leaned over to shake Luke awake.

“Why are there people in my house Lu”

“Fuck if I know, I think Ash was flying in this morning, so it might be him.”

He smiled over to where the blond was pushing himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Calum threw the shirt on and trotted down the hall toward the noisy kitchen. The presence of Michael and Ashton didn’t surprise him, what did surprise was the fact that his sister along with the middle Hemmings brother was seated in bar stools next to his counter.

“Jesus Ash, decide to bring all of Australia back with you?” 

“Well you see, I was going to drop Jack off at Luke’s, but it looks like he still hasn’t gone home.” Ashton had a smug smile as he eyed the very obvious hickies along his neck. Calum’s response was stopped when a deep, hoarse voice came from behind him.

“That’s because I haven’t gone home you asshat, is there and an actual reason you brought my brother back with you?”

“No one really heard from you two since you came back so they decided to fly here with me.”

Luke let out a sigh before heading into the kitchen in search of coffee, unaware of staring that the endless trails of hickies were causing. They were scattered over his body from the waistband of his shorts to the spot behind his ear. Calum was glad that they couldn’t see the once that each boy had on the side of their thighs. Jack’s gaze flicked between the two boys before he broke the silence that had settled between them all.

“Hey Lu, you get attacked by a squid or something.”

“Nope, just had sex with my boyfriend is all.”

Calum should have expected that Luke never made anything simple. Water shot not only out of his mouth but also his sisters, Ashton dropping the fork he had in his hand. There was a beat of silence before Michael broke out in hysterics. Calum was more worried about the fact that Luke had just called him his boyfriend. They hadn’t really talked about it, both boys silently agreeing just to take it as it comes. He could hear his sister choking from shock.

“So, are you going to tell mom that her baby boy is gay or…?”

“I’m not gay Jack. I’m Pan, I’ve always been pansexual.”

“Well, that’s good to know now.”

“What part of me has ever seemed straight to any of you, I’m literally the most feminine one in the band.” There was a look of realization that took over Ashton face at this, he shrugged before replying.

“We aren’t really the type of people that assume shit like that, you’ve always just been Luke.”

“So, wait, did everyone know that Calum wasn’t straight this whole time except for me?” This cause Michael to start laughing again.

“Ash and I only knew because we caught him making out with some guy at a party once.”

“I knew because I caught him watching gay porn once.” Mali had a smirk on her face as she said this, Michael laughing harder with each confession.

“Ben and I just kind of assumed. He was either into dudes or just REALLY into you.”

Luke just seemed frustrated at this, leaning his forehead against the closest wall. He seemed upset at the fact that he was left out of knowing.

“Babe, it’s not like they found out on purpose, I wasn’t trying to leave you out of anything.”

“I know Cal.” Calum closed the space between them and pulled the taller boy into his chest.

“Come, sit down and eat, afterword’s we can all go out and do something fun.” This peaked Ashton’s interest. He was always down to party and have some fun.

“We have a few days before we start writing again, let’s go to Vegas.” 

Both Jack and Michael thought this was brilliant, leaning over the table and high fiving the drummer before they started softly planning. Calum felt his sisters hand run through his hair before she leaned down from behind him and gave him a tight hug, moving on to give an equally as tight one to Luke.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Leave kudos, comments, and prompts!


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